Jwala-Ashwini keep Olympic hopes alive

Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa kept their hopes alive in the doubles event when they stunned world number 10 Yu Chin Chien and Wen Hsing Cheng.

LONDON: Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa kept their hopes alive in the women's doubles event when they stunned world number 10 Yu Chin Chien and Wen Hsing Cheng of Chinese Taipei 25-23, 16-21, 21-18 in a Group B round-robin match.

Commonwealth Games gold medallist pair of Jwala and Ashwini set the Wembley arena ablaze by their fightback.

Jwala and Ashwini were pushed to the backfoot after their first match loss in group B but the duo played out of their skin to keep themselves afloat for the knockout stage.

World number 20 Jwala and Ashwini blew an early 11-6 lead to allow the Chinese Taipei pair to claw back and earn a game point at 20-19 in the first game. The Indian combo then saved game point thrice before moving into a game point themselves.

However, they faltered once again to allow their rivals to come back into the match before finally restoring their second game point at 24-23. The Chinese Taipei player then found the net after a long rally to hand over the first game advantage to the Indian pair.

In the second game, Jwala and Ashwini tried to vary the pace of the long rallies but they were erratic as Cheng and Chien lead 11-7 at the break.

The Indian pair failed to negotiate the bodyline and angled smashes by their rivals and went wayward. The Chinese Taipei soon earned a game point at 20-14 when Ashwini hit the nets. Though the Indian pair saved a couple of game points but once again Ashwini hit wide to allow their rivals to comeback into the match.

In the decider, Jwala and Ashwini earned a small 11-9 lead early on. After the interval, they extended the lead to 16-12 and cautiously moved to 18-19 when a silly mis-hit by Cheng gave India the match point. Jwala and Ashwini didn't make any mistake after that and sealed the match with a disguised drop.

The 2011 world champion bronze medallist pair of Jwala and Ashwini will next take on world number 13 Shinta Mulia Sari and Lei Yao of Singapore in their last group stage match on Tuesday.